Microsoft Studios corporate vice-president Phil Spencer says that "it makes a lot of sense" that a symbiotic ecosystem exist between Xbox One and the Windows-based PCs. In an interview with AusGamer, Spencer was asked if Windows 8 and Xbox One could host cross-platform play between their respective platforms.

"I'm not allowed to leak things," Spencer replied, "but I think what you're talking about makes a lot of sense."

He brought up past attempts to bridge the gap between the Xbox and Windows-based platforms before - like what the company tried and failed to do with Shadow Run, and other recent efforts.

"Now you have differences in Windows gaming and console gaming around control and input... in fact if you go back to Shadow Run on Xbox 360, something I worked on, we had PC players playing against Xbox 360 customers. We didn't have tremendous success with that, but we learnt a lot from it.

"Then earlier this year we released Skulls of the Shogun, which was a game we launched on all three platforms on the same day, and you could start on one platform and then save the game to the Cloud and play across any of the screens and progress. And then Halo: Spartan Assault has some links between Halo 4 and Spartan Assault, even though they're very different games."

Spencer went on to say that the industry as a whole is gradually embracing a cross-platform dynamic, and claimed that Xbox Live is key to this future. Certainly the industry is embracing the use of apps for use with their respective systems via tablets and smart phones, and Sony and Nintendo certainly want to support their hand-held devices as integral parts of next- and current-generation consoles...

"This connected ecosystem across all the different devices is definitely where I think the future of gaming is going; you don't have to do it as a developer, but you have the capability and I think a system like Xbox Live across all those screens where you know who someone is and who their friends are, what their Achievements are and their progression is really critical to that."

Microsoft will release Xbox One November 22 across 13 markets for $500.

Wait.. isn't this the company that tried it, failed miserably at it since gamepads can NOT compete currently with a key/mouse setup. Then BANNED it as part of their policy for games going on their systems?